Many establishments that serve food, such as restaurants, cruise lines, banquet facilities, hospitals, nursing homes, and airlines, provide patrons with utensils in bundled form, that is, one or more utensils wrapped inside a napkin. The bundles are provided in an attempt to reduce the time needed to distribute the utensils. In addition, the bundles aid in reducing patron handling of the utensils during distribution, thereby reducing contamination.
The bundles are typically formed manually, which has several drawbacks. For example, many restaurant employees spend significant amounts of time wrapping the utensils. The labor costs associated with wrapping utensils can significantly impact the operational costs of restaurants and other food service establishments. There is also a risk of contamination during the wrapping process. For example, employees handling of the utensils during wrapping may cause contamination.
There have been attempts to automate the wrapping process. However, the devices that have been devised tend to be large and bulky, which are unsuitable for many kitchens where space is at a premium. Moreover, these devices require handling of the utensils to load the device, which increases the risk of contamination.